Ryan Nicol
Republican Rep. Jim Mooney led the House District 120 field in May fundraising, as he faces two Primary candidates and multiple other challengers this cycle.
Mooney raised nearly $53,000 in May. He brought in just under $37,000 through his campaign account and another $16,000 via his political committee, Friends of Jim Mooney.
Republican challenger Rhonda Rebman Lopez — who lost to Mooney in the 2020 GOP Primary in HD 120 — raised just over $28,000 in May. That put her around $25,000 short of Mooney’s haul, one month after narrowly leading the field with nearly $64,000 raised.
That April number was fueled by a standard bump candidates get in their first full month of fundraising. Though Rebman Lopez’s pace fell off in May, she did outspend Mooney. Rebman Lopez listed more than $13,000 in expenditures between her campaign account and her political committee, Advocates for Florida Keys Protection. Mooney, meanwhile, spent just under $8,400.
Two Democratic candidates — Adam Gentle and Daniel Horton-Diaz — both trailed their main Republican rivals in fundraising for the month.
Mooney’s biggest contribution for the month was $10,000 courtesy of New Jersey-based printing company Roll Flex Label. The Floridians for a Stronger Democracy PC, affiliated with the Associated Industries of Florida, gave $5,000 to Mooney’s PC.
Mooney received plenty of establishment support as well. Several of his colleagues gave $1,000 checks via their PC’s, including Reps. Lauren Melo, Fiona McFarland, Bobby Payne, Alex Rizo and Anthony Rodriguez.
In addition, the Republican Party of Florida poured in more than $17,000 in in-kind contributions to help Mooney’s effort, paying for campaign staff.
The bulk of Mooney’s spending — $5,250 — went to The Weekly Newspapers for advertising costs. He also spent $1,950 with Capital Resources for financial consulting and more than $1,100 with PAC Financial Management for treasurer services.
Rebman Lopez added $2,500 from We the People PC. She also courted $1,000 from former GOP Senate candidate Marili Cancio.
Rebman Lopez spent more than $10,000 on direct mail and telecommunications with Dark Horse Strategies, making up the majority of her May spending.
Republican candidate Robert Allen has also filed in the race. But he raised and spent nothing in May, and has only reported $150 in contributions since filing in December.
On the Democratic side, Gentle was the top fundraiser, adding just over $10,000 between his campaign account and his political committee, Adam for Democracy. Horton-Diaz collected just over $7,200.
Both Democratic candidates were much more reliant on small-dollar donations than the GOP contenders. Gentle did attract a $1,500 contribution from Matheus de Paula Oriolo, associate general counsel for Citi.
Gentle spent just under $8,900 in May, while Horton-Diaz listed just over $2,900 in spending. Gentle sent $2,900 to Image Plus Graphics for printing, as well as $2,600 to Peach Promotions for social media costs. He also reported $1,500 in consulting costs with Blue Velocity Consulting.
Horton-Diaz’s biggest May cost was a $1,000 expenditure with Allison Sardinas for campaign consulting. He also paid $835 to the Florida Democratic Party for voter database access.
Irene Alzerreca Calvo has also filed as a candidate with no-party affiliation. But she filed June 1, meaning her first campaign report would be due by July 11, if she qualifies.
So far, only Horton-Diaz and Rebman Lopez have officially qualified for the contest, though candidates have until Friday to finalize their respective candidacies.
Candidates and political committees faced a June 10 deadline to report all financial activity through May 31.
